Homegrown ed-tech firm Byju’s is feeling the heat from many young users’ parents, which is forcing government bodies to intervene. Now, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has disclosed that the firm has been targeting first-generation learners, forcing parents to buy courses and, in some cases, buying their phone numbers. Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson of the NCPCR, has told news agency ANI that the body has initiated action and will send a report to the government. The commission has also summoned Byju’s CEO Byju Raveendran on December 23 over allegations of hard-selling courses and misleading students.
Kanoongo said, “We came to know how Byju’s buying phone numbers of children and their parents, rigorously following them and threatening them that their future will be ruined. They’re targeting first-generation learners. We’ll initiate action and if need be will make a report and write to govt.”
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Byju’s was growing rapidly in India, and the platform offered a variety of courses to students in different parts of the country. Through a series of acquisitions, the company also expanded its portfolio. However, in the last few months, several publications have spoken to some parents whose children are learning about courses from the platform. The company is also under pressure financially and it laid off 5 per cent of the workforce recently.